You Should Be Committed

John Spence has touched upon the Four Biggest Challenges Facing Industry Leaders in his recent article.  He explores some excellent points here.  However, I will take the liberty of adding a fifth:

Commitment

Nothing will get done well in any business without the 100% commitment by the CEO/Owner. The old saying goes “A fish rots from the head.” If the CEO is not committed then it is impossible to expect full commitment from any of the top management, department heads,  and so on down the line.  However, with full commitment from the CEO to a goal or ideal, dedication becomes contagious. 

What does Commitment feel like?
A corporate culture that lives and breathes the Corporate Mission.

Recently I received an email from a company that I had worked with in the past. They are only 20 years old but have grown tremendously, with offices all over the US and three continents. In the email they stated their corporate values then gave examples of the milestones they have reached in pursuit of these values. By taking these values off the plaque on the wall and communicating them in real terms to customers, partners and employees, they have demonstrated commitment in action.

What does Commitment look like? 
Everything each employee says or does is in the best interest of the company, fellow employees and vendors, and most importantly the customers.

A client in the service industry received a call from a customer on Super Bowl Sunday with a major crisis that couldn’t wait for Monday morning. The CEO took the call, and went out to the site himself with his top managers, where they assessed and fixed the problem. As difficult as it was to get his men away from the game, the fact the CEO was the first to be there, fix the problem, and now has a customer for life. Maybe even future Super Bowl tickets...

What does Commitment sound like?
The differentiation in the marketplace that says we are better than our competitors and we can prove it by action, not words.

I was involved with a manufacturing company as an investor and investor in a very competitive business. Moving quickly to respond to customers’ needs was and is paramount in this business. We discovered, through surveying our customers and prospects, that most companies were taking too long to get back to them with quotes. Sometimes it would take as long 2-3 weeks. 

We made a commitment to respond with a preliminary quote within 24 hours. There were some starts and stops in the beginning but once we reached our goal of 24 hours, we impressed the hell out of our present and future customers, and stood out immediately in the marketplace.  Money where the mouth is.

These are just some of the benefits of a truly committed leader, whether you are one, want to be one, or work for one (or wish you did).